As the mom of both a college sophomore and a recent college graduate, I’ve received my share of calls from them inquiring whether an injury or illness requires a trip to the health center or an off-campus hospital or urgent care visit. Whether it’s a test for strep throat, flu, or COVID, when they do see a healthcare provider I want to have the right and the ability to obtain answers regarding my child’s well-being.
My oldest son took part in a 4,500-mile cross country bike ride with his fraternity two summers ago, riding from Seattle, Washington to Washington DC across 14 states in 11 weeks to raise money and awareness for the special needs community. While I was immensely proud of him for this incredible, service-oriented endeavor, these were the longest 11 weeks of my life – and with good reason. Two weeks into the journey, he took a nasty fall and sustained a concussion & two chipped teeth. I had no way to get to him in the mountains of Walla Walla, Washington, but I was able to have full access to his medical records as he received treatment because we had the right medical forms in place.
My older son also played Club basketball in college and had to be extremely careful about his knees and ankles due to high school injuries. My younger son is a Division One athlete. He runs mid-distance, and training is grueling. While we have not dealt with any significant injuries, and we always hope for the best, I’ve gone into the college experience with eyes wide open regarding what can happen with our kids when they are in physically demanding environments, or contract an illness due to close quarters, or simply make reckless decisions as all college students do.
These risks are real. Accidents are the leading cause of death for young adults, and a quarter-million Americans between 18 and 25 are hospitalized with nonlethal injuries each year.
The two most critical documents are the durable medical power of attorney and the durable financial power of attorney. If these documents are not in place, it’s likely you will not have the authority to make health care decisions on their behalf or manage their money in an emergency once they turn 18. It doesn’t matter who is footing the tuition bill, or if they are still on your health insurance and you claim them as dependents on your tax returns. If your child needs your intervention, without these documents, you may need to go to court to fight for your right to act on his or her behalf.
In addition, you want to ensure you and your child have signed a HIPAA authorization form, which was created in response to a federal law that protects the privacy of medical records. You child’s signature permits you to receive information from health care providers about his health and treatment. This is the document you will need in place if you want to access any information about treatment your child receives at the college health clinic.
Regardless of the fact that our 18-year old kids are legally considered adults in the eyes of the law, the truth is that the proliferation of helicopter parents and bulldozer parents have stifled emotional maturity and independence for many of our children. While we may be well-intentioned, our reluctance to push them out of the nest and to over-protect them has in some ways compromised their ability to make good decisions and to deal with the circumstances when they do.
This makes it even more important to ensure they have the documents in place that allow us as parents to have full communication with any healthcare professionals, on-campus or off-campus.
Launching our children into the college world is a time of great celebration. It is also a time to ensure the transition from full family dependence to interdependence, and then finally to independence, occurs with as little difficulty and as much protection as possible so that our children can proceed to live fully healthy and fulfilling lives.
Your Next Step in Protecting Your Child
In an emergency, authorization forms are the last thing you think about and the first thing you need. Student Legal Forms has streamlined the process to access and authorize these vital forms. Please visit the Student Legal Forms homepage to start your documents today.
Marissa Levin
Marissa Levin is the founder and CEO of Successful Culture International. A 20-year entrepreneur, speaker, & globally recognized business leader, Marissa’s lifetime legacy mission is to educate, equip, & empower 100 million entrepreneurs & leaders worldwide to reach their greatest personal & organizational potential.
